


Blood-Stained Roses

by IronStrangeForLife (AnthoAndHisShenanigans)



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Comics), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Evil, Assassin Stephen Strange, Canon Divergence - Doctor Strange, Canon Divergence - Iron Man 1, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Emotional Manipulation, Enemies to Lovers, Everyone is Dead, Evil Tony Stark, Heavy Angst, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt Tony Stark, Hydra Peter Parker, Kinda, M/M, Murder, One-Sided Relationship, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sad Ending, Stephen Strange-centric, Stockholm Syndrome, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Tony Stark-centric, Tony is a total asshole, Unhealthy Relationships, Unrequited Love, as if I didn't already spoil the whole story with tags, even if it's illegal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-01-30 01:37:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21420064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnthoAndHisShenanigans/pseuds/IronStrangeForLife
Summary: What if Tony Stark never becomes a part of the Avengers; What if instead of becoming the Iron Man that everyone remembers as Earth’s greatest defender, the best way for Tony to defend the Earth is taking the matter into his own hand, both figuratively and literally, that world domination is the only way to keep everyone safe.What if Stephen Strange never goes to Karma-Taj after the traumatic accident; What if instead of becoming the Sorcerer Supreme, he becomes the top assassin in S.H.I.E.L.D and makes use out of his steady hands.What if Stephen's mission is to neutralize the gone-mad genius.In this universe, these are not  “What if…” questions.*PLEASE MIND THE TAGS*(very slow updates cuz life)
Relationships: Christine Palmer/Stephen Strange, Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Tony Stark & Ho Yinsen, Tony Stark & James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Comments: 2
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Reminder: I used a mix of Comic!Tony & MCU!Tony and this Tony has the appearance of Comic!Tony while having the fic based on the MCU movies.

What if Tony Stark never becomes a part of the Avengers; What if instead of becoming the Iron Man that everyone remembers as Earth’s greatest defender, the best way for Tony to defend the Earth is taking the matter into his own hand, both figuratively & literally, that world domination is the only way to keep everyone safe. 

In this universe, this is not a “What if…” question. 

* * *

He didn’t know where he is, heck, he can’t even remember what had happened other than the constant sharp pain on his chest. It felt like someone ripped his chest open and proceeded to shove his flesh back into it. Well, he wasn’t entirely wrong. He let his head fell back onto the cold metal surface with a thud, giving up on even trying getting a sense of what’s happening. Even if he can, he couldn’t do anything, he’s not the one in control anymore. He tried to speak but he can’t, he was held back by the nasal tube. He pulled it out, gagging as the long tube slithered out from his nose. 

“Ugh…” He grunted as the blinding light filling up his vision as he heard the telltale sound of a metal door opening, followed by two men having a conversation in a language that he can’t understand. A tall silhouette appearing in front of him, suddenly blocking the light, letting Tony to finally have an opportunity to open his eyes without them burning. “You’re still alive…” The man muttered with disbelief, clearly surprised despite his calm tone. “What do you mean? What happened?” Tony asked, trying to support himself up from the cold makeshift operating table to take a good look at everything. 

His arm reached for the jug of water on the table beside him, right in the corner of his eyes, but he was held back by a wire. He traced his finger along the wire, locating the end of it only to find out that it was hooked up to a car battery. He looked down at his chest as he felt the familiar sharp pain again, eyes widen at the view, realizing that the wire is connected to his bandaged chest. He wanted to run his hand across the bandages covered chest but he couldn’t bring himself to do it, he physically can’t, every inch of his body hurts, constantly screaming in pain. 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” The stranger stated, glancing at the severely wounded genius. Tony ignored the man’s word, using the remaining strength to claw the bandages down, tearing them away as quick as he can, wanting to figure out the complete story. His hands stopped instantly as soon as he can see his flesh, revealing the ugly wound in the middle of his chest. His eyes widen, the whole body shaking with disbelief. His breath quickened the longer he stared at the practical hole in his chest, _ it was too much for him. _

The black blur crept back into his vision again, much faster than the last time, covering half of his vision in just seconds. He can barely see the man beside him turned to check on him, his voice was a blur, the yell turned into something unrecognized before Tony’s vision turned completely black, unconscious. 

* * *

_ He was surrounded by darkness, he wanted to force his eyes open even if he was afraid of his surrounding, he needed to look at his surrounding & find a way to escape, he needed to get the sense that he’s in control even though he wasn’t, he had to... _

_ His eyes snapped open, taking a quick glance before getting noticed by the henchmen beside him before finally focusing on the pool of water in front of him. Fuck, he cursed internally as he examined the depth of water, he can feel beads of cold sweats rolling down his face. His breath hitched, already having the feeling of suffocation by just looking at it. _

_ The only thing he can remember after it was the deep voice of the henchmen, the strong & firm grip around his head, forcing his head into the cold, shallow water. The water blinding all his senses, he can feel the water enter his lungs, burning his throat, sending him into a spiral of anxiety and hopelessness. _

His eyes snapped open, desperately gasping for air, the feeling of suffocating still lingering in his mind. The never-ending nightmare occupying his mind, slowly driving him to insanity. He shook his head, hoping those thoughts can leave him for 3 seconds. He looked around, he sighed in relief as he saw the warm sunlight entering the prison-like room. “What have you done to me?” The engineer asked glancing at the stranger at the opposite side of the room before looking back down at his bandaged chest, small streaks of crimson red blood still visible despite the fresh bandages. 

“What did I do? I removed what I could, but there’s a lot left headed for your atrial septum. Do you want a souvenir?” The man replied with a firm yet unthreatening tone, somehow making Tony felt calm as he tossed the genius a jar of bloody shrapnel. Tony examined it before dropping it onto the ground, thought that it’ll be better for him to forget about it instead of letting his anxiety takes over. 

“I’ve seen many wounds like this in my village. The walking dead we called them because it took a week for the barbs to reach vital organs. I anchored a magnetic suspension system to the plate. It’s holding the shrapnel in place...at least for now.” The man stated as he turned around, looking at Tony’s chest, his voice became quieter as he spoke. Tony nodded as the man spoke, he felt like he should be grateful that he didn’t die on the “operating table”, that he knew he’ll find a way to survive, that he felt...superior, knowing that he’ll outlive this living nightmare gave him the sense of superiority. 

* * *

Tony stared at the small stack of paper in front of him, secretly sketching a design of his suit silently, trying to compensate for the loneliness. He put down the pen, looking at the half-finished design. A grin of satisfaction crept on the corner of his mouth, knowing that he'll escape in no time, making him felt that he’s better than everyone else, that he's superior. 

“What are you working on?” The stranger asked, looking at the design that was definitely not a Jericho missile. The only answer he got is silence. “I’m sure they’re looking for you, Stark, but they will never find you here…The car battery is running out and you understand they won’t turn on the generator until you start working.” He shifted in his seat, eyes locked on the engineer as he spoke. “I know and I’m working on a way to let both of us escape.” Tony explained, glancing at him before getting back to the design. “You don’t like what you saw out there, did you? I didn’t like it either when those weapons destroyed my village. What you just saw, that’s your legacy, your life’s work in the hands of these murderers. Is that how you want to go out? Is this the last act of defiance of the great Tony Stark? Or are you going to try to do something about it?” The man ignored Tony's reply, continuing without looking at anything other than the man in front of him. Tony’s eyes finally meeting with the man's, his hand stopped, letting the pen dropped onto the table as the rush of emotions took over his brain, a combination of emotions that he never experienced. He can feel the weird mix of guilt & hatred flowing through him, knowing that these are technically his fault, that the solution is to let him be in control, not with Pepper, not even Rhodey, not with anyone else, but just him and his trusty AIs, that this is the only way to achieve the peace that everyone craved for or wanted for decades, _with the whole world in his palm _ _ . _

* * *

The expression on the henchman’s face as he coldly told them their deadline after shooting the man who they assumed was their leader right in the head was still in their head as they finished up the assembly of the huge iron suit, knowing that if it was done at the wrong timing, this could be the last day of their life after months of hard work, only to fail at the day they get to escape. 

“Yinsen! Yinsen!” They can hear the henchman yelling, desperate to find out what they’re planning, voice sharp and threatening, sounded like he was about to break the door down just to take a look. They can’t do anything but ignored him, they didn’t have any time to get interrupted or distracted, or else their death will be approaching in just minutes. Their head both turned at the sound of explosion after the henchman’s attempt on entering the room, the explosion signaling the fact that they had no time to spare, that the rest of them will come to get them. 

“It’s frozen, the systems aren’t talking to each other. Reset!” Tony yelled out at Yinsen, looking at the program bar barely moving, making his anxiety worse, knowing Raza and the other henchmen were approaching them. “No, they’re moving. Very slow.” Yinsen stated with a surprisingly calm tone, his eyes flickered back and forth to the screen and the blown open door, constantly checking their surroundings before helped lowering a bulky chest piece over Tony. 

Yinsen eyed the laptop after checking on Tony, the bars creeping ever so slowly. He turned, listening to the shouting of men outside growing louder. “Get to your cover. Remember the checkpoints, make sure each one is clear before you follow me out.” Tony said, his anxiety was clearly showing but he didn’t care. Yinsen cursed under his breath before looking up at the entrance and Tony one more time before running out, completely ignoring the engineer’s words. 

Tony was trapped in the suit, watching the loading bars getting closer and closer as he heard the gunfire outside, he was unable to help, growing more and more impatient while he looked at the door, multiple shadows growing bigger and bigger on the wall. He snapped his eyes shut, hoping the progress bars can speed up. He let out a sigh of relief as he heard the suit’s helmet lowered down, telling him the loading bars were finished. The metal suit glowing under the dim light from the flickering, slowly dimming light of the arc reactor. He can hear the firing and the yells of the henchmen, approaching him faster and faster. Multiple bursts of gunfire were followed by the silhouettes of the henchmen that were cast on the wall of the cave collapsing onto the ground and nothing but silence. 

Tony looked back up with a cold, dead face as he fired at the 2 guards that entered the room. The flames and the scream of the men filled up the dark, eerie cave, with more firing at the metal suit as Tony marched out from the cave, bullets bouncing away from the metal suit, reflected back to the guards. The size of the suit is terrifying, almost impossible to be built in a cave with boxes of scraps in the span of 3 months. The terrified looks permanently stuck on the henchmen’s face, staring at the scarily huge armor, eyes widen and they knew who is hidden behind the mask. Tony launched a missile towards the group of people before firing, he can’t help but started laughing maniacally as he looked at his work, thank god the hysteric laughter and the wicked grin was covered by the helmet and the sound of the bullets. 

Tony stopped as he heard the one last scream coming from the crowd, only to realize the one person he has forgotten, the grin immediately dropped from his face. Rushing back into the cave with this ridiculously big suit is almost impossible but it doesn’t matter, the only one mattered here is Yinsen. He stopped beside the man, ripping his helmet off before kneeling down to get a clear look at his face. Leaning closer and closer to the man’s face, trying to search for any signal that indicates the man is still alive, before sinking down to the ground, knowing that the man is dead hurt more than anything. 

He stared, just stared at the lifeless body, not letting anything to interrupt him grieving. A telltale sound of cocking a gun didn’t do anything to him either. He felt the gun pointing right on his head, the dumb grin on the last henchman's grew bigger as Tony didn’t do anything to resist, proud of himself for being the closest to killing the billionaire. The henchman let out a chuckle, blinded by pride and ego, not realizing the genius' hand reaching for the gun beside him, catching him off guard & shot the henchman through his neck. Tony didn’t say anything, just watching the blood gushing out rapidly from the man’s jugular as his hands grabbing firmly on the bloodied neck before collapsing beside Tony. 

* * *

The image of the terror on the terrorist's faces is permanently burnt into Tony’s mind but he didn’t care, it felt, _nice_. How people fear him gave him even more motivation to take over the whole world to make sure everything is according to his plan. He finally opened his eyes, the sunlight blinding him as soon as his eyelids parted before finally being pulled back into reality. He looked around, realizing he was neither laying in the burning pile of sand in the middle of the desert he last remembers in nor the cold, rocky ground of the cave. He turned around, only to be met by a familiar face and a pair of arms pulling him into a hug. “that’s nice…” he whispered, leaning into the hug, his mind drifting away from reality, letting the man supporting half of his weight as he stared into the void. 

He just kept staring, haven’t spoken any word, blocking out all the calls from his friends and colleagues, _not even Rhodey,_ the torturing in the last few months repeating over and over in his head like a broken record. The face of the person that spent the last few months with him was haunting his head. “Hey, Tones! You alright?” Rhodey's voice finally snapped him out, the worries in his voice made it almost sound like a yell. “No.” Tony laughed, his head lifted but eyes still actively avoiding any eye contact with people in front of him. His friend’s mouth opened but no words came out, his mouth snapped shut before whispering his friend’s name, patting his shoulder as he left Tony alone. 

The genius started giggling as soon as he was accompanied by no one but himself, the giggles turning into hysteric laughter that sounded like it was never going to stop. His body sunk back into the seat, head threw back, letting the tears running down his cheeks. He found himself laughing so hard that he’s suffocating, constantly gasping for air but he can’t stop himself, it’s the only way to make everything less painful. 

* * *

Calling for a conference immediately after escaping from captive, _what a great choice. _ Tony walked into the room full of reporters with a blank face, not even a fake smile, ignoring the cameras and their flashlights. He sat down in front of the podium as he chewed on the disgustingly bad cheeseburger but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He stared at the reporters, watching their expressions turning into faces varies from confusion to annoyance. “So Mr. Stark, what’s the announcement you promised?” Tony was snapped out of his mind, he looked beside him to found Pepper handing him a microphone. He looked into her eyes as he took the microphone but with little to no emotion. “The official report was sketchy. What happened to you over there, Mr. Stark?”

Tony took a long pause before looking back up to the group of reporters in front of him. “What happened over there? I had my eyes opened, that’s what happened. I saw my weapons, with my name on them, in the hands of thugs. I thought we were doing good here...I can’t say that anymore.” Tony had to interrupt himself as the memories flashing in his head, the memories haunting him, only a second away from leaving him paralyzed with his thoughts and emotions. He snapped himself out of it, _ not here, not now _ , he reminded himself before continuing. “The system is broken, there’s no accountability whatsoever. Right now, as of this second, we are freezing the sale of all Stark weaponry worldwide, and we’ll be announcing the true solution of the problem, _ your __savior _in anytime soon.” He announced with a grin at the last statement, ready for the whole world to know that he’ll soon be bringing them peace, now that he was back in control. 

He handed the microphone back to Pepper, who was reasonably confused before being escorted out from the talk room which was a chaos at the moment by Happy, people were trying to compensate with that Stark literally shut down the weapon-manufacturing division, some of them were wondering was Stark drunk again, some were still wondering what did he mean by “the solution”. As Tony reached the exit of the room, a reporter successfully approached him without being caught by Happy. “Mr. Stark, have you gone mad?” was the only question from her. “Yeah, babe. Stark raving mad.” Tony turned to her and gave her a creepy grin before walking away, ignoring everyone and hiding back into the workshop that he hasn’t laid his foot in for months, focusing on his great plan. 

* * *

The abandoned workshop suddenly came alive as Tony set his foot into it, “Welcome back, sir.” The A.I. greeted, Tony smiled in reply as he watched the screens turning back on after months. Screens still showing projects that he was working on. “What can I do for you?” “I need to build a better heart.” Tony said casually, the vague answer confusing the A.I. “I don’t understand, sir.” “Give me a scan and you’ll get it.” 

“Fascinating...” A bitter smile appeared on the genius face after the commentary. He felt the same way his A.I. did, even if the arc reactor had been sitting in his chest for months. “But most importantly, I also need to build a suit.” He said to himself, as the blueprint of the arc reactor displayed on the screen. “This bad boy definitely needs an upgrade.” 

* * *

“Sir, are you sure you don’t need any assistance?” Tony looked at the new arc reactor sitting on the bench before looking down at the one in his chest. Tony hesitated for a while, he knew he can get Pepper to help him out but what if Pepper doesn’t approve of his ideology -as if Pepper can stop him-. _ What could possibly go__ wrong?_He thought to himself before insisting on his decision. He pulled out the arc reactor delicately, knowing that one little mistake can lead to him dying from a cardiac arrest. “Sir, do you want me to contact Ms. Potts?” “I’m fine, J.” He insisted as he unplugged the cords connecting the arc reactor. 

JARVIS stayed silent, knowing that no matter what he says, his creator will never change his mind, well at least he can be sure that even after everything that happened, the stubbornness in the man will never go away. Tony let out a sigh of relief as he successfully replaced the arc reactor before looking back at his screen, ordering the A.I. to load the prototype of the suit. 

The genius looked at the design of the suit, still fascinated by the fact that he built it in a cave, with nothing but scrapes. He grinned at the thought, if he can pull all of these off while held captive, he could've done something much better, something more_ destructive. _“May I ask why do you still need this? ” “To make the world great again.” Tony grinned as he thought of the idea of world domination, what could possibly go wrong if heis the one in charge. 

* * *

“Tony, you still need to get out of your workshop once in a while.” Pepper stated, voice filled with annoyance as she stepped her foot into the workshop, trying to figure out what keeps her boss locked himself in for the last few days. “What are all of these?” She asked as she kept exploring the room, still can’t locate where Tony was. Her eyes were locked at the design that vaguely represents an armor, trying to make out what it actually is before being distracted by a loud noise. 

“Tony!” She yelled out before finally finding her boss, who was tweaking the metal gauntlet. “Oh hi, Ms. Potts.” He greeted her simply with a fake smile, his eyes trying to analyze her face, figuring out what she was thinking. Distracted by his secretary's sudden appearance, he accidentally fired the gauntlet, blowing a hole in the wall of the opposite side of the room, shattering some of the glass. “I swear I don’t mean to do it.” Tony quickly replied as he looked at the wall before looking back at Pepper, who was facepalming herself. “What the hell were you thinking!” “I was just trying to make it work!” 

Pepper took a deep breath, calming herself down, she didn’t want to end up strangling her boss to death. She looked around the workshop again, trying to make sense of what exactly is happening, her eyes landed on the old arc reactor sitting on the bench beside her. “So this is the thing that was keeping you alive?” she asked, holding it up delicately to examine it. “Was.” The genius finally replied, using his free hand to lift up his shirt, exposing the arc reactor and the scarred chest. “Can I look at it?” Pepper asked again but her voice filled with amusement, yet soft. Tony shrugged as she traced her hand across the arc reactor, still can believe that her boss had been hiding it from her for almost a week, well, in her defense, he locked himself in his workshop ever since the conference. 

“What exactly are you working on?” “This.” Tony said as the screen behind him light up with a new design of the iron suit, much more stylized compared to the one he built back in Afghanistan. “I built one of these to escape from captive, the old design is on the desk. The purpose of that one was for me to escape while _ this _ one is for me to protect us, to bring peace to the world.” He explained, turning his attention back to the gauntlet. “I don’t understand.” “You will eventually. Also please close the door while leaving.” He gestured at the door before asking for JARVIS to turn the music back up. 

Pepper turned around to look at the man, who was completely absorbed into his work, ignoring literally everything else one more time before leaving. “J, lock down the whole workshop, only let people in if I say so.” He demanded as soon as Pepper stepped her foot out of the room, still not looking away from his work. “Not even Colonel Rhodes?” “Not even Colonel Rhodes.” 

* * *

Tony looked at the complete armor, assembled in front of him, a smile emerge from his face, looking at his own handiwork, the black, gold and red paint on the stylized iron man suit, the red popping out from the overall black paint with golden paint decorating it, bringing out the design even more. He took the helmet off onto his hands, admiring his work again before putting it on, immediately being greeted by his A.I. which he installed him into.

"Sir, want to get some fresh air?" "What else am I supposed to do?" He took off the helmet, setting it back as he prepared for the suit up. He had tested it out a few times by now but never in public, never get to test out the height limit, until now. He closed his eyes, waiting for the magic to happen. The suit up took a while but it was for the dramatic effect, "If you wanna do it, then do it with style." was basically Tony's motto. The sound of the door opening made the genius snapped his eyes open. "Tony, what's going on?" The voice came from the other side of the workshop, the voice was a mix of confusion & annoyance. "Rhodey, why are you here?" Tony asked back, he knew Rhodey would find out eventually but he wasn't expecting him to find out right now, right before the final test run.

"Rhodey, I'm in the middle if something right now." He said dryly, not even waiting for the man's answer to the previous question, clearly hinting him to leave. "Not until you answer my question." Rhodey insisted, his arms crossed, looking at his friend dead in the eyes, not moving until he gets what he wanted. "I know you built one to escape from captive but why another?" "Look, you won't understand so-" "I'm pretty sure I will." The genius was cut off, he let out a sigh before pointing his repulsor at his friend. "Colonel Rhodes, please step away for your own good." The A.I. warned. "Alright, fine. If you don't want to tell me, fine. Just don't get yourself killed." Rhodey said, walking away from the iron man suit. "JARVIS, lockdown the lab." Tony demanded before taking off.

He can feel the adrenaline rushing through his body as he accelerated, watching the busy city from miles above it. He needed to admit that this was the first time he felt so alive. He could do this all night watching over the sleepless city, showing off his newest, greatest invention.

He smiled to himself, knowing that the world would put him onto a pedestal, worshipping him as if he was a deity in no time.


	2. Chapter 2

Stephen looked into the mirror again, fixing his bowtie before running his fingers along his face again, making sure nothing is out of place. The soft silk shirt brushing against his skin as he moved away from the mirror. Checking his watch again,  _ 7:19, _ he let out a sigh, the thought of needed to pretend to be interested talking to a bunch of doctors that were almost twice his age for hours made him felt his energy slowly draining away. Well, at least there will be alcohol to make things easier.

And just like he expected, talking to a bunch of doctors who were jealous of his intelligence was just as hard as sewing with eyes closed, the tension in the air was so thick that Stephen was certain that someone will end up strangling him if he doesn't leave. He excused himself away from the group, looking for something more interesting.

A group of businessmen who were only there because of stacks of cash that they hold? Boring. A few young doctors that he only knew while he went past them in the hospital that will definitely worship him in the conversation? Well, his ego could use some stroking but that’s it. The bar? Worth a try. His eyes stopped darted across the hall as he made his way towards the bar.

All his movement stopped as his eyes landed on something way more interesting,  _ Tony Stark himself _ . His eyes were glued to him, the normally soft and curly hair was now sleeked back, the overly expensive suit wrapping around his body and the charming smile...

Stephen’s mind was pulled back by the genius’ head-turning to his direction, possibly noticing the young doctor staring at him. The doctor can felt his mind going blank as he saw the  man approaching him, he tried to make himself less awkward  even though he was standing in the middle  of the hall alone.

“ Evening,  Mister Stranger.” Tony greeted with his iconic grin as  he slowly examined the taller man. “or, should I  say Doctor Stranger .” He continued before  cursing himself silently ,  only realizing how dumb his joke was now . “ Not doing that bad, Mister Stranger.  Only one letter off.” Stephen can’t resist the urge  to roll his eyes. “ Hmm, a smartass. I like it.” The genius smirked  as he moved closer to Stephen. “Are you always that flirty, Mister Stark?” Stephen’s mind barely managed to form a proper sentence , the only thing that was stopping him from  becoming a blushing mess in front of  the attractive asshole was his dignity.

“Only to the beautiful ones.” Tony didn’t seem to  be backing away from him, only  inching closer and closer to the doctor . “Going straight to the point, I see.” Stephen  shot back, not realizing the  only thing that isn’t betraying him was his voice. The  dark shade of pink on his cheeks  and his half hard cock -surprisingly still  well hidden  under  his dress pants- weren’t help Stephen in the slightest. “ 10, my  apartment and I’ll give you whatever you want.” The brunette offered before walking back into his crowd, leaving him alone, trying to  process what actually happened.

He took a deep breath, slowly taking back his control  before hopping back into a group of colleagues . He can’t stop thinking about Stark even when he tried to distract himself with  snarks and wits Well at least now he had a reason to stay at this event.

* * *

“What took you so long?”  Stephen pouted impatiently, waiting for Tony  at the exit for about 15 minutes. Not even waiting for Tony's  reply, he launched himself right onto  the older man. His sinful mouth crashed onto Tony’s,  the brunette  fingers  making their way into  his  hair, pulling him  closer into the kiss.

“ So eager, huh.” Tony pulled  away from him as he guided Stephen  towards  the car. “Shut up and kiss me.” Stephen  said impatiently before attacking Tony’s parted lips with his tongue, moaning as  the taste of the brunette  exploded  in his mouth. Tony eventually gave in,  both tongues tangling together, fighting for dominance as Tony ’s hand found his way to  open the car door, dragging Stephen into the car while not breaking  up the kiss.

“Hap,  apartment , now.” Tony huffed  out before slowly turning into a moan  as Stephen  attacked his throat, sucking and biting the  sensitive skin . Tony can’t  see  Happy’s face  but he can clearly tell  the obvious eye roll & the sigh  coming from him.

“God, I want you inside me right now.” Stephen panted, breath shaky with arousal. He looked at Tony with half lidded eyes, his hair messy and his cheeks flushed and Tony can’t help but  groaned at the sight , watching the  man  who was  snarky and full of wits  turning barely  coherent,  mind  taken by  his arousal.

The older man  hooked his finger under  Stephen’s tight bowtie , cutting off  his breath.  His free hand slowly  made their way down to  cup the doctor’s  erection.  A ragged groan  made its way out from Stephen’s throat as he struggled to breathe, mindlessly  humping the billionaire’s hand while he offered his  throat back to  Tony.

“So this is what it takes to  get you  to stop b ein g an asshole , huh…”

* * *

Stephen groaned at the sunlight hitting his face. Wait, he didn’t remember having a ceiling to floor window in his apartment. He shot up from the bed, scanning through the room as he found himself naked under the sheet. He let out a sigh of relief as he finally remembered what happened last night, he can feel his cheek starting to heat up at the  thoughts.

“You’re finally awake, sleeping beauty.” Stephen blushed at the words as he turned around to meet the source of the voice. He watched the older man returning into the room with a bottle of red wine. “Enjoying last night?”

“Wine?” The billionaire offered. “Really? Wine for breakfast?” Stephen rolled his eyes, rejecting the offer. “Technically it’s lunch but you do you.” Tony shrugged as he set the stemware down. “And your suit is there, already dry cleaned and pressed.” He continued, pointing at the suit hanging beside the walk-in closet. 

“What time is it?” The doctor asked as he gripped onto the soft bedsheet. “Almost twelve. So, how does it feel like to wake up in Tony Stark’s bed?” Tony smirked as he asked and Stephen never had a stronger urge to punch someone in the face. “Yeah... Mine is better though.” “Guess we’ll have to find  it  out.” “Next time.” Stephen replied before taking his suit into the bathroom with him.

Stephen rolled his eyes at how big the bathroom was and this was only the one in Tony’s bedroom. He looked at himself in the mirror,  hand slowly trailing down  his torso as he  followed the bite marks. The red and purple  were a stark contrast to the pale skin ,  the man blushed just from the view . _ Oh god, last night really was something, wasn’t it? _ _ _ He said to himself before stepping into the shower, letting the hot  water running down his body.

* * *

Stephen stared  down at the floor, looking at absolutely nothing. He  put the suit away,  he can’t stop but thinking about Tony Stark, whether he will be at the gala or not . Stephen shook his head as he was finally reminded of  his plan.

“ It was just a one night stand , there’s nothing more.”  He said to himself, eyes finally  moved away from the floor, landed on the wide mirror.  His mind immediately brought back the vivid memory of him  admiring  the bite marks  across his body, he  wanted to savor the moment, he tried to but he can’t, he didn’t want to . He didn’t want to  let himself dwell on Tony, who probably won’t  even acknowledge him for  anything other than casual sex.

He sighed to himself , half-mocking himself for  fantasizing about Tony before going on with his day.

He wanted to say he felt nothing other than  shocked when he heard  news about Tony's -no,  _ Stark’s _ _ - _ kidnapping but what’s the point of lying to himself  when he knew that he’ll end up weeping over a stranger's disappearance . He wanted  to ignore it , kept telling himself it’s just a hoax . He wanted the feelings to be fake, he didn’t want to even remember the man .

But yet, here he was,  sitting there with  the news still on, paralyzed  by his emotions. He can feel  tears rolling down,  yet he felt nothing.

“He’s just another stranger.” “ He probably already forgot about you.” “ You’re nothing for him.”  He repeated to himself over and over again. He wanted to  bring himself to hate Stark, just wanted for his mind to  stop lingering on him  but they just made him felt  more pathetic .

* * *

Here he was,  three months later, in front of the same news channel  again but  i nstead of  slumping against the couch emotionlessly , his hands covering his mouth, the familiar  yet distinct feeling of tears rolling  down his face,  _ tear of joy _ .

It’s been too long since he met Stark , almost too long. He stood beside his colleagues,  he found himself  in the position of scanning the surroundings instead of  focusing on the ongoing conversation beside him. He was clinging onto the  small glimpse of hope  of finding the billionaire , desperate to see that face once again, not even  expecting anything more than  eye contact.

Tony just got back to his life for only  little over  two months and even half of them were spent locking himself away , working on some  secret project -well that’s what the media knows- until just now,  announcing he will help to fund this project.  No one knows whether Stark himself will be here  or just  Stane , or even Potts representing the company.

Everyone thought Tony Stark was insane after his return anyway.

“Strange!” A hiss and the firm grip on his arm brought him back.  He glared at the offender automatically before  the other pair of eyes glared back. “ Nick, just get to your point.” Stephen scoffed ,  he wanted to jerk his arm back while not alerting the two other men in the conversation.

“Could you just pay attention  for one second without daydreaming about  your one-sided crush? We need the funding. ”  Nick hissed  under his breath as he dragged  Stephen back to the  conversation .

A s Stephen about to  lose hope with time slowly a hand was placed onto Stephen's shoulder. “ Excuse me, gentlemen. C ould I borrow Dr. Strange for a moment?” The familiar  voice beside Stephen’s ears made his shoulders tensed up .  _ Tony _ , Stephen  smiled to himself as the older man lead him away from the businessmen.  Stark gave  everyone a cheeky grin before  dragging the doctor away.

“ Good to see your face again, beautiful.”  Tony smirked, the hand on Stephen's shoulder  migrating lower  and stopped at his waist along with the words. “Tony…”  The younger man blushed at the touch.

“How  ‘ bout we cut straight to the point?  Get into my bed right now and I’ll help to fund your project. ” The older man spun Stephen around, the blue eyes meeting each other , one brought out by the  lashes while the other's  dilated into almost silver.

“Why  mine ? Miss me too much? ” Stephen  teased,  running his fingers down Tony’s neck, pulling  both of them closer to each other. “ Your ass is better.” Their  bodies were pressed together and the erection that the  younger man trying to hide was now resting against Tony's thigh.

“Let’s not waste our night, shall we?”  The genius lead Stephen away, pushing  him into the empty, thankfully, elevator.  One hand cradling  Stephen’s head , the other quickly pushing the buttons of the elevator. Their lips crushed together  as soon as the elevator door closed.

Stephen had been  craving for this moment for months,  he tried and savored the taste of the other man's lips,  enjoying the way Tony’s tongue swirled in his  mouth, the sensation made Stephen moaned.  Tony took it as an encouragement , he snaked his hand into Stephen's tie,  pulling at it to test the man’s reaction . Stephen gasped and moaned softly at  the sudden  lack of air.

He pulled at the tie again as the elevator door slid open, leading Stephen into his room. “I miss this so much.” Tony whispered beside the doctor's ear as he unlocked the door and pinning him against the wall. “Then let’s cut straight to it.” Stephen hissed as he brought both of them stumbling onto the bed. He flipped their position and pinned Tony down onto the bed.

* * *

Tony opened his eyes lazily, he wanted to just stay in the bed for longer but fought the urge, climbing out of the comforting bed. He took a moment to regain himself, he peeked over his shoulder to find Stephen, still asleep and looked surprisingly contented.

The genius left the man alone in the room, he had better things to do than watching a stranger sleep. He sat down with a whole bottle of whiskey as he tried to come up with ideas for his amour. He took the glass of amber liquid into his hand, listening to the sound of ice against glass before bringing it to his mouth.

He set the drink down as he felt the presence of the other man in the room. Tony’s eyes darted away from the glass instinctively, looking at the man standing in front of him. The man looked just the same save from the messy hair and the wrinkling shirt.

“Morning.” Tony dropped his guard down as he found the man replied with a nod. The genius returned to his thoughts as Stephen took the time to put the suit jacket on, covering up the creases on his shirt.

“Thanks for last night, by the way.” Stephen simply said before leaving the hotel room.

* * *

Stephen stared into the air, something felt wrong, Tony felt off ,  but he can exactly pinpoint the problem and hooking up with him didn’t help either.

_ Posttraumatic stress _ ,  he told himself  as he kept  suppress the voice in his head telling him to move on.  He can’t leave Tony,  he can’t leave the man that  made him felt butterflies in his stomach, he  can’t, even if that man didn’t care about him.

* * *

Tony felt great inside the suit, a huge grin  on his face as he flew through the sky of Malibu.  Can’t do anything other than laughing maniacally at all his  repulsive actions, constantly ignoring JARVIS ' words of concern. He wanted to say he made the suit for the greater good, to fix his  past mistakes but the other part of him can’t deny that  the thoughts and ideas were driven by  his lack of i m pulse control.

The adrenaline rushing through his  body as  landed in front of the terrorists, the  way it felt  aiming his  repulsors at them, making them surrender with just a few actions,  the sound of  cheers from the civilians that he had saved  fueling and stroking his ego. How it felt like to be the one in control.

Tony sighed as Rhodey called him again . “Hey,  platypus.” Tony picked up, ignoring the fact that his voice was barely drowned out  by the loud noise of the flight stabilizers and the  wind rushing against the suit as he tried his best to suppress the  urge to turn the c onversation  that he was trying to hold into  minutes of laughter.

“Tones, we  gotta talk.” The colonel sighed at the nickname before noticing the  sound of  harsh wind rushing against metal. “Wait, Tony. Where  are you?” Rhodey cut  himself off his train of thought as he put all his attention onto the noise, trying to figure out what exactly his friend was  doing. As if it wasn’t enough, the overlapping of the  noise and his friend's voice made it even more suspicious .

“Are you in the suit?! ”  His  voice was almost loud enough to overpower  the noises in the background.  _ What have  _ _ I gotten myself into… _ Rhodey wanted to  say it out loud but knowing that it will either get lost in the noises or  Tony will simply ignore it, he only let out a sigh. “Calm down, platypus… ”  _ Jesus Christ,  _ _ you’re _ _ so annoying _ _ . _ “Don’t you dare 'platypus' me when you’re  out there killing yourself.” Rhodey replied with  a flat tone.

Tony took a deep breath,  _ God I hate you so much _ , he cursed  silently before  opening his mouth  again. “Look Rhodey, it’s dangerous, I know but I need to. I created them and now  it’s my job to take them down.” He can hear an audible  sigh from the other side of the phone. “Fine but I want my friend back in one piece.” The colonel was  greeted  with a moment of  silence, which was almost impossible  considering it was Tony.

“What’s your definition of 'one piece'?  Because I don’t think  your friend ha s  all the pieces to even start with.” Tony can’t help but chuckled at the last word before ending the call , continue  laying in the atmosphere , letting the adrenaline take  over him again.

* * *

Tony was greeted by Pepper  as soon as he landed in his workshop . It  only took him a look to see the disappointment in Ms. Potts' eyes but he can’t bring himself to do anything else to her,  he was high on adrenaline to even care about the aching of his chest.

“Tony, what were you thinking?!”  The woman finally spoke,  she can feel an eye roll from her boss even underneath the mask, but she didn’t stop, glaring  at the man in the armor. “ You know, the usual.”  The genius shrugged,  letting the bots take care of the process of taking off the suit, finally revealing  his expressions to Pepper.

“ Yeah, a normal Wednesday night that includes  facing terrorists all by yourself .” Pepper sighed at Tony, who was  actively ignoring her complaints.  “ Now you just sound like Rhodes.” He  stated,  not batting an eye on  her as he walked further into his workshop , far too tired to deal with anything . “Tony, I can’t do this anymore.” Pepper simply stated, the flat tone in her voice  made the situation even more serious  than it already was.

Tony stopped all his movements  as the words hit him,  he turned around to look at  her, trying to get more context from  her. “ Tony, I can’t watch you  basically killing yourself almost every day.”  Tony sighed as he prepared himself for  what’s next. “It’s way too unhealthy for me , I can’t  handle the fact that my boss is constantly being repulsive. I’m resigning.”  She  slipped a letter onto the  surface of  the desk closest to the engineer , she stood & wait for any comments or confusion from the man.

The genius stared at him for an almost  uncomfortably long, his face wasn’t showing  any emotions either, making even Pepper  almost impossible to  get a hint from him.  “Okay, sure. Sure , fine, it’s fine.” The man  glanced at the letter as he leaned against the table beside him, muttering to himself as he’s trying to process &  find a solution. He sounded like he either was going to  burst into hysteric  laughter like he usually  did or break into  tears but he didn’t know why.

_ Was _ _ it the sudden realization that how fucked up he was? _ No, he knew it  long ago ...  _ Was _ _ it because everyone in his life was leaving him?  _ They didn’t matte r anyway ... _ Or _ _ was it the relief knowing that he can now be doing whatever he wanted without people  _ _ intervening _ _ ? _ That’s not the problem, he’s Tony fucking Stark, he can do whatever he wanted to… He didn’t know but it didn’t matter.

He only realized the mumbling had been going on for  a long time, way too long when he heard Pepper clearing his throat, softly  asked him if he was alright . “ It’s fine.” He mumbled one last time before pointing at the  door at the opposite side of the workshop. “You can leave now, the door’s right there.” He said with  a face that Pepper didn’t recognize, the  soft smile  was uncomfortably warm yet his eyes were ice cold and the  terrifyingly light blue only made him looked even more sinister.

* * *

“Stephen , can you not daydream about your rich ‘boyfriend’ that probably  doesn’t even care about you every other second? ”  Christine  sighed, literally dragging her friend along the hallway just to get his attention . I didn’t get pay enough for this , she  glared at Stephen once again after successfully getting his attention , which she got a  disgruntled huff for.

“First of all, I don’t have a crush on Stark, I’m not pining over him. And I’m well aware of our conversation.” Stephen defended but not shaking Christine’s hand off his arm. “Then what were we discussing?” He knew she would ask him this question no matter what but he still didn’t have an answer, he just let out a huff. “Fine, but can you please stop thinking about someone who wouldn’t love you back? It’s not  gonna end well & I don’t want him to hurt you.” She let her hand slid from the neurosurgeon.

“No promise.” Stephen gave her a bitter smile before walking away.


End file.
